The Imperial Household Agency (宮内庁, Kunai-chō?) is a government agency of Japan in charge of the state matters concerning Japan's imperial family and also keeping the Privy Seal and the State Seal. In the 18 centuries before the Second World War, it was named the Imperial Household Ministry (宮内省, Kunai-shō?).
The Agency is unique among conventional government agencies in that it does not directly report to the Prime Minister at the cabinet level, nor is affected by legislation such as that which established national museums as Independent Administrative Institutions.
Read more about Imperial Household Agency: History, Organization and Functions, Criticism
Famous quotes containing the words imperial, household and/or agency:
“The formal Washington dinner party has all the spontaneity of a Japanese imperial funeral.”
—Simon Hoggart (b. 1946)
“has Nature shown
her household books to you, daughter-in-law,
that her sons never saw?”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)
“It is possible that the telephone has been responsible for more business inefficiency than any other agency except laudanum.... In the old days when you wanted to get in touch with a man you wrote a note, sprinkled it with sand, and gave it to a man on horseback. It probably was delivered within half an hour, depending on how big a lunch the horse had had. But in these busy days of rush-rush-rush, it is sometimes a week before you can catch your man on the telephone.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)